Russia successfully tests new intercontinental ballistic missile

May 29, 2007

Moscow, Russia - Russia has successfully test-fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile that hit its target 3,400 miles away.

The launch took place at the Plesetsk cosmodrome in northern Russia on Tuesday.

The missile, called RS-24, can be armed with up to 10 warheads and was designed to evade missile defence systems, the Russian defense ministry says.

Russia has complained that US plans to base parts of an anti-missile system in central Europe threaten its security.

The US maintains that its system is not directed at the Russians.

The US wants to deploy interceptor rockets in Poland and a radar base in the Czech Republic to counter what it describes as a potential threat from "rogue states" such as Iran and North Korea.

The Russian test missile successfully struck its target 3,400 miles away on the far eastern Kamchatka peninsula, the Russian Strategic Missile Forces said.

The statement said the missile would replace two aging ICBM systems - the RS-18 and RS-20, known in the West as the SS-19 Stiletto and SS-18 Satan, respectively.